Soy Cuba Photo Gallery by ilya4 at pbase.com

Soy Cuba

There is no simple way to describe the feeling one gets visiting Havana - from the empathy for the difficult circumstances the people of Cuba are dealing with to the envy for their feeling of community and the indomitable spirit so palpable and so uniformly present in everyone I have met on my recent trip.
I hope this has to some degree been conveyed in my photos. Comments, as usual, are welcome.
I.G.

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Howard Sandler		03-Feb-2018 19:15
Great gallery. I was recently in Cayo Coco, but it's not the real Cuba.

Kiyomi Baird		11-Jun-2011 21:17
I am so moved by your work. You have captured the heart and soul of Cuba. The breath and depth of your images resonates the spirit and heart of the culture. Your expression through the composition, color and texture tells the story of the beauty you see and the beauty of Cuba not to be missed and needs to be told. I hope you will share this in a book form (or e-book) enhanced with poetry and/or music. Thank you Ilya.

Esther Capotosta		27-Jan-2011 01:42
While the photographs are intiguing and true to life, they depict how Communism can destroy a country and its people. As a Native Cuban I know what I left behind 50 years ago and it made me cry to see what Cuba has become under a oppressive communist regime. When I left it was full of educated, vibrant, creative and industrious people. The country and its cities were well maintained and, its architecture rivaled anything in Europe or the US. If you are interested in seeing how things were once, before Castro, you might want to look into the movie, available on dvd, "The Lost City" by Andy Garcia.

Jerry Gerber		30-Dec-2010 11:44
Wonderful portrait of that poor caribbean island nation floating about as far from Florida as we are from New York city. Not exactly a vacation paradise---yet! It always seems that dog populations inversely mirror a place's wealth. Great job!

Bill Amadio		25-Dec-2010 18:37
What a moving work of art! I was especially struck by the progression of expression in the faces of the people as they age. The young are joyful. The adolescents and young adults are optimistic. The old are reflective and wise, maybe a little beaten down by a lifetime of poverty. I agree with Bill Slack. This would make a timely book given the current debate in the US over the advantages and disadvantages of "socialism." Bravo, Ilya.

Anna		23-Dec-2010 16:06
Great pictures! Very interesting! It is a different world indeed. What a mixture of faces; some of them looks so Jewish to me. The most impressing, people are living on the street, as well as dogs. My impression that people here are ejoying their life more than we are, and expressing theselves more openly. Thank you for sharing.

Bill Slack		22-Dec-2010 21:56
Wow. What a profound portrait of a nation and a people. I am moved by these pictures. So many wonderful faces. You obviously connected and earned trust, and you captured not only the personalities of the young and old and all in between, but their environment. (And the dogs.) I hope you publish this as a book. Thanks for sharing.

Vivian Abbott		19-Dec-2010 22:33
Thank you for sharing your enthralling photos. Indeed, you made your experience so vivid and tangible insofar as you captured so much telling detail while keeping the compositions balanced and intriguing. This is an important moment in time since the transformation that could occur will take place with such rapidity. For certain you captured the spirit of the people. Have you seen the DVD of :The Buena Vista Social Club". I have a copy if you haven't seen it. It reinforces what you felt about the Cubans. Congratulations! Vivian Abbott

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